Since I pre-ordered Star Trek Online I was afforded the opportunity to get in on the open BETA and have been playing it for a few weeks now. I thought I would give some personal thoughts on the game and where it might be headed.

When I first logged on, the game was very buggy, often causing me to be kicked from the server. Now, that was not entirely unexpected since I logged in along with probably several thousand others and I have yet to see a company anticipate the traffic it will receive to prevent a crash. Also as expected, the game server was pulled offline numerous times to apply patches and other maintenance issues.

The game play has improved dramatically and I particularly enjoy the space combat. You have the ability to choose your bridge crew and train them on numerous skills which effects the way your ship fights and performs. Along with this is the ability to add different consoles to your bridge which changes the ship’s performance as well. What this means is that, even though you may have a ship that looks identical to another player’s, each will function differently based on the player’s choices. The controls for ship movement and combat are simple while at the same time allows you to access the special crew and console abilities easily. There is not a lot of micromanagement which is a big pet peeve of mine.

Ground missions, also known as away teams, are also streamlined and mirrors the controls of space combat. You choose which crew members will beam with you into combat and you control the targets they engage, either always focusing on the target you have, on the weakest enemy, the closest, etc. Other than those options, your away team acts on their own without you having to control each one. This allows you to focus on your own shield and life force. Should a team member fall, you can revive him or her by using your tricorder. “Fleets” which most World of Warcraft players know as “Guilds” will be available in the future as well.

Interaction with NPCs (Non Player Characters) is a little sluggish and unrefined at this point but I think that will only improve with time. The economy in the game is a little different than you are used to because int he Star Trek universe, there is no money, although you do have your own “bank” where you can store items, known in this game as the “exchange.” Instead things like skill points and alien artifacts that you turn in for scientific research are used in order to “buy” needed items and gear. There is also talk of a “micro-store” where you will be able to use real money to buy high level items but there is not a lot of information on that yet. Personally, I wouldn’t mess with it.

So far the game looks and feels very promising and is a very welcome change from the grinding that you must perform in World of Warcraft and other MMORPG
based games. Look me up in game if you buy it, it goes on sale Feb. 2, 2010.